


Safe Harbor

by GettingThere



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Afraid of a spanking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jude needs a hug, Lena is the best mom ever, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, no spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 01:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14534004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GettingThere/pseuds/GettingThere





	Safe Harbor

“Jude, I’m very disappointed in you.” 

The words felt like a gunshot. He wanted to get down and hide under his bed, or at least under his covers. Anything to protect his body from what would happen next.

He started to cry. “Mama, please! I’m sorry I cheated. I promise I’ll never do it again! Please mama, please!” As he begged and shook, Lena was at a loss. Yes, cheating on a math test meant serious consequences for Jude – a letter of apology to his teacher, a two-week grounding, and no TV or cell phone for at least a week – but his reaction seemed extreme considering the punishment she’d given him. She hadn’t yelled. Her tone was firm, but gentle. Apparently not gentle enough.

Stef and Lena never heard the details of Jude’s sessions with Dr. Spencer, but Jude’s behavior spoke for itself. He flinched constantly, got shivers anytime someone approached him from behind, and panicked if he ever dropped or spilled something. When Lena heard that Jude had cheated on his test that afternoon, she thought long and hard about how to lay down the law without further traumatizing him. The next time he faced consequences, she’d have to do better.

Lena knelt on the floor in front of Jude and he slid back on his bed, pulling the covers over his legs and holding them tight. He closed his eyes and braced himself for what he thought was coming. Lena looked down at the floor and exhaled.

“Sweetheart...” Her voice was soft and slow. “I’m not gonna touch you. I’m gonna stay right here on the floor. I’m not gonna come anywhere near you.”

Jude began to relax his muscles. After a minute of silence, he let go of his blankets. “I’m sorry, mama.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I mean...not the cheating. It’s okay that you were scared.”

Jude hugged his knees to his chest and hid his face behind them. “Are you gonna spank me?”

“No. Of course not, honey. We talked about this.”

“I know. I just thought maybe this time, because you were so mad...”

Lena shook her head. “Honey, your mom and I are never going to hit you. Ever. Not on any part of your body. Yes, sometimes we can get mad, but we will never hit you. Remember when we talked about rights and privileges?”

“Ya.”

“What did we say?”

Jude paused, remembering what he’d been told. “That rights are things like food and clothes and not getting hit. Things that everyone needs that never get taken away. And privileges are things like... video games and candy. You can lose them if you’re bad.”

“Sweetie, you’re never ‘bad.’ You’re a good kid. Sometimes you make really big mistakes, but you’re a good kid. You know that, right?”

Jude looked down at his lap “Maybe.”

Lena reached over and nudged his chin upward. “Hey. You are. Always.” She took his hand in hers. “I’m still disappointed that you cheated on your test, and there have to be consequences because it’s not okay to copy off someone’s paper. But your body belongs to you, and no one has the right to touch you in a way that doesn’t feel good. I never want to hurt you, Jude. I love you.” She gave his hand a squeeze.

He looked at her with tears in his eyes and squeezed back. “I love you too, mama.”


End file.
